1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to percussion instruments for musical use and more particularly to a percussive instrument having a case with a circular or connected curve interior surface and multiple high precision balls carried within the case for persistent sound generation.
2. Related Art
A number of percussive instruments are available for pulsed or shaken sound such as maracas or shakers. U.S. Pat. No. 7,045,695 issued on May 16, 2006 to Cohen describes an exemplary instrument of this type. While having the potential for sound generation based on shaking or pulsing of the instrument resulting in multiple percussive impact of beads carried within the instrument, no potential for persistent sound is available. So called “rain sticks” allow a flow of beads through an orifice in a resonant tube to create a flowing or persistent sound, however the nature of the sound is not easily controllable for musical use.
It is therefore desirable to provide a percussive instrument which has the capability for providing pulsed beats as with a maraca but also allows generation of sound with natural persistence. It is also desirable that the instrument be capable of varied sound quality in the persistent sound generation mode.